The closing of the 18th Communist party congress in Beijing, China. Photograph: Lintao Zhang/Getty Images

With a lot of red carpet and potted plants, numerous mentions of the scientific outlook on development, and a show of absolute unity, the Chinese Communist party concluded its 18th national congress on Wednesday – paving the way for the next generation of leaders to be unveiled on Thursday.

They will take charge of almost 1.4bn people and the world's second largest economy, at a time when the country is more powerful yet faces increasing challenges in areas ranging from demographics to foreign policy. It is the first transition not ordained by the founders of the People's Republic – Deng Xiaoping picked the outgoing leader Hu Jintao – and the runup has proved bumpier than some anticipated, notably with the spectacular downfall of Bo Xilai, awaiting prosecution after his wife was convicted of murdering the British businessman Neil Heywood.

More than 2,000 congress delegates selected members of the central committee, although there were only a handful more seats than places. The new body will on Thursday choose the 25-member Politburo and its standing committee, the tiny group of top leaders that is currently nine-strong but expected to shrink to seven. But in reality Xi Jinping, long assumed to be Hu's heir, and colleagues including Li Keqiang, lined up to succeed the premier, Wen Jiabao, have been picked by current and retired leaders.

The vice-premier, Wang Qishan, joined the party's disciplinary body – signalling he is likely to join the standing committee, as thought, but moving away from his expertise in financial and economic affairs.

Zhou Xiaochuan, governor of the central bank, appears to be moving towards retirement as he was not included in the central committee. Nor was the commerce minister, Chen Deming.

Only 10 of the 205 full members are women, down from 13 in the last committee. Women were marginally better represented among the 171 non-voting alternate members.

Political manoeuvrings appear to have continued until the 11th hour before the handover, but unanimity reigned at the closing ceremony as delegates approved reports and amendments to the party constitution. Asked if they had any objections, delegates delivered a string of noes. Asked to raise their hands if in agreement, every person on stage did so.

The congress upgraded the outgoing leader Hu's theoretical innovation – the scientific outlook on development, broadly meaning a fairer and more sustainable model – to rank alongside other guiding ideologies within the party constitution.

It also introduced the need to promote ecological progress to the constitution for the first time, underscoring a growing focus on environmental issues as leaders grapple with the problems that have built up over years of frenetic growth.

The ceremony concluded with the Internationale, played by a People's Liberation Army brass band. Leaders stood to attention before filing out, with many pausing to shake hands with associates and offer the occasional pat on the shoulder – a brief and tantalising hint of the personal relationships so crucial behind the scenes.